Fox reality TV boss Rob Wade has been named CEO of Fox Entertainment.
Wade, Fox Entertainment's former president of alternative entertainment and specials, took the top spot vacated by Charlie Collier, who left last month to join the Roku network. Wade will report to Lachlan Murdoch, Executive Chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation.
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In his new role, Wade will oversee the Fox Entertainment portfolio, which includes animation house Bento Box Entertainment; Marvista Entertainment; TMZ; his own unscripted studio, Fox Alternative Entertainment, which he founded; Ramsay Global Studio, which he helped create; Content creators written by Fox Entertainment Studios; blockchain creative labs; and Fox Entertainment Global's content sales division.
“Since the founding of Fox Entertainment, Rob has been an integral part of the management team tasked with implementing long-term strategies to build an independent broadcast media company, expand the original content portfolio, and maintain a disciplined internal infrastructure. "Rob's respected creative instincts and proven operational acumen allow Fox Entertainment to open another exciting chapter in its Confessions story."
Fox Entertainment chairman Michael Thorne and COO Amy Carney, along with other senior internal executives, were among the top contenders to fill Wade Collier's spot.
He became the youngest Briton to rise to an American network's executive board, joining the likes of Disney's Fox and Peter Rice, NBCU's Francis Berwick, former NBC CEO Paul Telegdy, former ABC CEO Paul Lee and USA Entertainment's Michael Jackson. .
Wade is the latest reality show boss to rise to prominence, but given Fox's dominance of reality shows like The Masked Singer , he talks about the importance of Unscripted to the company after Disney bought it as an independent broadcaster. The Masked Singer , the most popular series of recent years, recently began its eighth season.
Wade joined Fox Entertainment in March 2017. He oversees the network's unscripted scene, including shows such as Lego Masters , which sprang up under his control, as well as long-running series such as MasterChef .
He was also responsible for setting up Fox's own production arm, Fox Alternative Entertainment, which released some of the original games and developed international formats as part of a $100 million global fund.
Wade has a close relationship with one of the network's biggest stars, countryman Gordon Ramsay. In addition to overseeing shows such as Hell's Kitchen, MasterChef, MasterChef Junior, Next Level Chef and Gordon Ramsay's upcoming Food Star , Ramsay has been an integral part of a big deal with the famed British chef cook.
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Last August, they created Studio Ramsey Global, which grew out of a partnership with Ramsey's former broadcaster, Studio Ramsey, All3Media. The acquisition and founding of a new company was also associated with a large total order in the nine-figure range.
Wade has been a rising star for the network for the past five years and has been praised by executives for being financially responsible for his immature lineup, managing the pandemic and keeping a few original titles on the air and looking for new ways to increase funding.
"I'm honored to lead Fox Entertainment into the future with an incredibly talented team that I know very well as we build on and expand Fox's legacy of excellent storytelling, … entrepreneurial strength and innovation," said Wade. “This is a time of transformation in the global entertainment landscape, opening up endless possibilities and, most importantly, creativity that makes the future bright and exciting.”
Before joining Fox, Wade was showrunner for ABC's Dancing with the Stars and Head of Entertainment for BBC Worldwide, which produces the show. He also served as an executive producer on the Fox series The X Factor and America 's Got Talent on NBC, and was a television executive at Psycho Entertainment North America.
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